Abstract
This report examines functioning in the families of alcoholics undergoing outpatient treatment. Alcoholic patients were randomly assigned to two social-learning-based alcoholism treatments, one of which contained a conjoint therapy component. Patients (Pts) and significant others (SOs) provided ratings of family functioning before treatment and at a 6-month follow-up. According to the perceptions of both Pts and SOs, there were significant improvements in family functioning in a number of areas at posttreatment. Contrary to what was expected, however, the improvements were not greater in the conjoint condition. The usefulness of alcoholics' level of autonomy as a matching variable also was explored. According to the perceptions of both Pts and SOs, posttreatment family functioning was better when low-autonomy alcoholics were treated without other family members. There also was evidence that conjoint treatment was more effective with high-autonomy alcoholics and their families, although it was less convincing and limited to the SOs' perceptions. Implications for alcoholism treatment and the limitations of the findings are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-59 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Journal of Substance Abuse |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1993 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health